Unrepentant RNC chair Priebus won’t back down for comparing Obama to Italian captain accused of manslaughter

Reince Priebus, the chair of the Republican National Committee, may have walked the rhetorical plank when he compared President Obama to the heavily criticized Italian captain who guided his cruise ship into the rocks.

Both the former RNC chair, Michael Steele, and the current Democratic National Committee chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, have criticized Priebus for making the analogy.

The now-notorious Italian captain allegedly left his sinking ship before the passengers when the ship tried to maneuver through shallow waters off the coast of Italy and started to sink. More than a dozen passengers died.

According to Priebus, that is what Obama is doing to the United States right now.

“In the end, in a few months, this is all going to be ancient history and we’re going to talk about our own little Captain Schettino, which is President Obama, who is abandoning the ship here in the United States. He’s more interested in campaigning than doing his job as president,” Priebus told Bob Schieffer on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

But Democrats — joined by Steele — said it’s not appropriate to compare a political enemy to a man who’s been arrested and faces multiple charges, including manslaughter.

Steele, who served as chair of RNC before Priebus, said on MSNBC today that the comparison was “unfortunate.”

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of DNC, took the criticism even further. She accused Priebus of exploiting the catastrophe for political gains.

“Chairman Priebus crossed the line. People died, and he is exploiting and making light of a tragedy for political purposes,” she said in a statement issued today.

She now calls on Priebus to apologize for his remarks.

“Chairman Priebus should be ashamed of his comments comparing President Obama to the captain of the wrecked Italian cruise ship,” she continued. “That he would compare the President of the United States with a man now charged with manslaughter for his actions shows a lack of respect for the President that is beyond the bounds of appropriate political discourse. More importantly, it shows a galling lack of sensitivity for the victims of this tragedy and their families, as well as those still living in anguish because their loved-ones are still missing.”

At the White House today, there were harsh words for Priebus, as well.

“If you are so desperate for attention that you make an analogy that Michael Steele deems inappropiate, you know you’ve probably gone to far,” White House press secretary Jay Carney at his daily press briefing.

Priebus shows no signs of backing down. Today, he defended his remarks and rejected calls for him to apologize.

“This is ridiculous,” he said on Fox News. “The analogy was made — and it was an analogy of leadership — that in a time of crisis, this president is leaving the White House and campaigning nonstop all the time. I think it’s pretty clear, but you know, if people out there, especially on the Democratic side, want to try to make hay of it, they’re going to be able to do that,” he said.

He accused his Democratic colleague for exploiting the debate for political purposes as well.

“People have died, of course — terrible — and our prayers go out to those people, without a question. But to take this comment and turn it into something that it was not, that’s wrong too, and that’s political gamesmanship as well,” he said.